1. Field of Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate, in general, to file systems in a computational device. More specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to methods and systems for accessing a file from a memory or a local device in the computational device.
2. Description of the Background Art
A typical file system stores and organizes computer files and data in a computational device. The file system records the location of all the files and directories present in, for example, the hard disk, CD-ROM and other data storage devices. Moreover, the typical file system helps a user to manipulate, navigate, access and retrieve desired files from a computational device.
Conventionally, various file systems are used to access a file from any location in a Computational device. One conventional file system is a LINUX™-based, buffered file system. This file system requires virtual memory (VM) support to function. Virtual Memory is a computer design feature that permits software to use more main memory than the computer physically possesses. In the VM-based file system, VM buffers disk pages and files. Whenever a user wants to access a file, it is checked if the file is present in a buffer cache. The file is fetched from the disk if it is not present in the buffer cache. The files are automatically stored in the buffer cache and are deleted from it on the basis of a Least Recently Used (LRU)-based mechanism. According to the LRU-based mechanism, a file is deleted from the buffer cache when it is marked least recently used among a given set of files. This can sometimes lead to the deletion of files, which might be needed after the file has been deleted.
Moreover, the VM-based file system is a disk-block-based system, therefore, the user needs to know the location of the file in the computational device in order to access it. Therefore, the location of the file is not transparent to the user. This can make accessing a file difficult and time-consuming for the user.